In 1919 the City of Seattle took over all of the city's street car lines and formed the Seattle Municipal Street Railway (today's METRO). Because of its steep hills, Seattle kept its cable car lines longer than any other American city except San Francisco, not replacing them until 1940 when buses that could handle the grades became available. Beginning on August 12, 1934, the Municipal Street Railway implemented a new loop system to save money and shorten rides, with streetcars no longer running full routes across greater Seattle, but instead stopping or "looping" downtown, requiring riders to transfer to another line.
This brochure for "The New Loop Plan" from the Municipal Street Railway outlines these changes with information about why the route revisions are necessary, facts about the Municipal Street Railway, and a map highlighting the downtown loop from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue and Pine Street to Union Street.
Caption information source: METRO: Seattle's Cable-Car Past, History of the Yesler Line at http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccsea.html#scry.
Physical Description: 1 brochure (8 p.) ; 12 x 6 in. folded to 3 x 6 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
